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hercules heroic characteristics
archetypal hero journey hercules
archetypal hero journey hercules
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Hercules, the son of the Greek god Zeus and mortal Alcmene, was one of the most famous hero in Greek mythology. He is known for his super strength and his many adventures he went on. When Hercules was born, Hera became furious that her husband had sired another child with a mortal. Hera punished Hercules by putting a spell on him that made him mad. While Hercules was under the spell, he slaughtered his own wife and six kids. After Hercules’s sanity returned, he deeply regretted the actions that he had taken. To pay for the crimes of murder that he had committed, Hercules was sent to the land Tyrin, where he was sentenced to perform 12 years of labors that were assigned to him.
The first three labors that Heracles’s performed includes; Slaying the Nemean Lion, Slaying the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra, and Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis. “The first task that Eurystheus gave Heracles was to destroy the Nemean lion.” (Page 121) This creature, who was brought to the land of Nemea by Hera, could not be killed by anything because of its golden fur. Heracles brought along arrows and a club to use to slay the creature. “Realizing no weapon could kill this monster, he rid himself of them and fought the monster with his bare hands.” (The Twelve Labors) The only way for Heracles to kill the Nemean Lion was to wrestle it death. He was able to grip the lion between his arms and choke it to death. After succeeding in killing the beast, Heracles brought back the dead body of the Nemean Lion to Eurystheus. “Eurystheus now sent Heracles on a more tricky mission, to kill the Hydra of Lerna.” (Page 123) The hydra was a powerful, nine-headed water snake that had a poisonous breath. The hard part of this task was that the hydra had only on...
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... to please her father by helping out Heracles. “Persephone told Heracles that he could take Cerberus up to the world of the living, if he could do so with his bare hands.” (Page 131) With no weapons allowed, Heracles had to use his famous wrestling moves on Cerberus. Heracles was able to overcome Cerberus, and the three-headed dog was soon brought up to the surface. Cerberus did not stay long in the upper lands as the King was terrified of the beast.
Hercules performed many labors to pay for his sins. He dealt with many challenges from killing creatures to taking different items. All of these labors he performed were not simple and each task could have been the end of Heracles. As the 12 years of labors went by, each of the tasks were accomplished. Through these labors, he payed for the sins he had done and was bestowed with the gift of immortality.
Have you ever considered what labors Eurystheus would have assigned Hercules if he lived in the modern world? Back then the labors Eurystheus assigned to Hercules was based on feats so difficult that they seemed impossible such as defeating the Nemean lion, defeating the hydra, and more. But what labors could Eurystheus assign Hercules if he lived in the modern world? In my opinion I think that Eurystheus would give Hercules these labors if he lived in the modern world.
...gle and strain are at the demigod’s mythic core” (Simmons, 2008, p. 635). The saying: “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” proves to be true yet again. In order to see a person/god/hero for who they really are, we need to look deep. Yes Hercules was heroic but what led to his heroism is overseen by most. If someone commits murder, intentional or not, but the rest of their life is full of determination and heroic moves, are they truly a hero?
Everyone knows the story of Hercules, but not everyone knows that it follows the same pattern as most hero stories. Hercules is a story about the son of Zeus. When Hercules was a baby, Pain and Panic, Hades’ evil henchmen, gave him a potion to turn him mortal. It was prophesied that this baby would be the one to defeat Hades and they didn’t want that to come true. Since Hercules was now mortal, he could no longer live on Mount Olympus. A couple on earth took him in so he could grow up as a human. Hercules knew something was different about himself, so when he grew up, he set out to discover who he really was. Even though Hercules is an ancient Greek myth, it still follows Joseph Campbell’s modern basic outline of a hero’s journey.
Hera caused Heracles to go mad and kill his family. The only way for Heracles to purify himself was to accomplish the 12 labors that was assigned to him by his cousin Eurystheus as the oracle described: “As atonement for the dreadful killings, the oracles put Heracles in to the servitude of his cousin, King Eurystheus, who would impose upon the young hero the Twelve Labors, seemingly impossible tasks” (Reference book 68). Heracles must have completed these difficult trials to help him return to his usual life
The conflict between Hercules and Cacus in The Aeneid illustrates their characterizations, contrasting them through their moral stances. The epic’s portrayal of Hercules’ as a moral individual appeals to the audience’s view of him as the hero of the passage. Hercules’ moral character is exhibited when King Evander introduces the story of Hercules and Cacus, stating, “Here . . . was / once a cave which the rays of the sun never reached. This was / the home of the foul-featured, half-human monster by the name of Cacus . . . Long did we pray and in / the end we too were granted the help and the presence of a god” (Virgil 8.193-6, 199-200). Further to Evander’s story, he also illustrates the morality of Hercules’ heroism by stressing the fear of Cacus: “Never before had our / people seen Cacus afraid. Never before had there been terror in / these eyes” (8.222-4). Evander delineates the morality of Hercules by showcasing his heroic element, as well as recognizing his divinity; these attributes, as well as his act of striking fear into Cacus, solidify his morality. Hercules’ virtues appeal to the audience, allowing them to...
All these contradicting sides of Heracles makes him a more interesting figure in ancient texts but they also create quite confusion. Why after all the evil, horrid things he did would the gods make him immortal? Heracles truly is a paradox.
The ninth labor of Hercules seemed like an easy one at first, simply get the queen of the amazon’s girdle, the queen even agreed to give it to him. The labor took a dark turn when Hera intervened once more. She tricked the Amazons into thinking Hercules was out to steal away their queen. A battle ensued in which the strongest man alive killed the queen and took her girdle. What seemed like an easy job was made difficult by the goddess of marriage. The next labor involved a lot of traveling for the hero. Hercules crossed the ocean and the dessert to capture the cattle of Geryon (also appears in “battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan"). The then Demi-God killed the three bodied Geryon and his guard dog. Hercules then brought the cattle back
Of the many conflicting philosophies, morality, when referring to one's sense of ethics, is the greatest and most intriguing disparity between the Ancient Greek ideologies of heroism and the contemporary views of today. By the standards of the Greeks, Achilles was a Hero. He was the embodiment of the individual, a man of unwavering principle, not only unwilling but incapable of allowing his values to become compromised. His credo and the actions determined though it, while certainly irreconcilable with present ethical standards, are strongly rooted in his own idea of justice. Jason, the archetype of the tragic hero, used Medea for personal gain, and then discarded her, but in so doing, avenged his family and freed a kingdom from a tyrant. Heracles, despite having killed his children and wives, rose above the confines of mortality through heroic deeds, and excruciating pain, both physical and emotional, to transform into an immortal god. The Ancient Greeks did not differentiate between the Hero and the Anti-Hero, judging them not by their methods but by their justness.
The legacy of Hercules began when Zeus, the chief god, fell in love with a mortal woman named Alcmene. When Alcmene’s husband, Amphitryon, was away, Zeus made her pregnant. This made the goddess Hera so angry that she tried to prevent the baby from being born. When Alcmene gave birth to the baby, she named him Herakles (Romans pronounced it "Hercules"). The name Herakles means "glorious gift of Hera". This made Hera even angrier. When Hercules was an infant, Hera sent two serpents to destroy him in his cradle. However, Hercules strangled them, one in each hand, before they could bite him.
Myths and religious doctrine are generally recognized as two entirely different things. Myths are usually referred to as a fictitious story or a half-truth; often they are stories shared between groups of people that are part of a cultural society. Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, and purpose of the universe, and often containing an ethical code dictating appropriate human conduct. Although they differ in certain aspects, they still hold similarities. Comparable to parables within the Bible, myths have different versions which are both motivating, as well as entertaining. There are not only parallels to the idea of the stories but specific tales hold similar morals and equivalent characters.
Greek hero Heracles. He was the son of the god Zeus and a human mother Alcmene,
Once he killed his wife and kids I think he should’ve just been put in jail or something. I don’t like the death penalty really and I think him getting killed himself would’ve been better than him going out and killing all of those other monsters and men. Heracles didn’t kill or even hurt Cerberus, but still managed to bring him back to Eurystheus and finish the labor he was assigned
Hercules was the strongest of all the heroes and of course a possessor of superhuman strength. Hercules was an excellence marksman, and also a champion wrestler who once wrestled the great god Zeus to a draw! It is said that Hercules made the god of the sea Poseidon give way in battle, and wounded Ares the god of war in another battle. Hercules could toss boulders around like pebbles and move mountains that got in the way of his cattle. The possessor of superhuman strength also relieved the Titan Atlas of the burden of holding up the heavens. Like his strength Hercules’s bravery showed tremendously in times of need.
He was given a last task to accomplish and when he acquired that would given it last wish, which was to become immortal. Hercules had to go to the underworld and defeat a monster that guarded to the gates of the evil depths that lay ahead. The beast had he had three heads of wild dogs, a dragon or serpent for a tail, and heads of snakes all over his back. This was a man eating creature. If Hercules could vanquish Cerberus with only his hands he would have attained the 12 labors Apollo gave to him. This will guarantee his immortality. Of course, Hercules defeated the beast and returned unscathed. He was then let free from control of king Eurystheus. Apollo granted him with what he craved most, to be free of the evil his soul carried around and to be immortal. That is exactly what he earned and received.
The only thing she had to do was get into Hercules’ head and make him weak. Phil had figured out why she was there. He warned Hercules, but he didn’t want to listen because he believed that they were in love with each other. She forgot all about the deal, because she was so lost in Hercules. Hercules couldn’t shake the thought that maybe Phil was right so he asked her for the truth. She admitted that she had made a deal with Hades. The fact that it was true really tore Hercules apart. He became sad and lonely and really got in the way of Hercules fulfilling his goal of becoming a